Operation Tapline

op e r a t io n
TAPLINE
The trans-Arabian pipeline system has been in operation since 1950 when it delivered its
first oil from the fields of eastern Saudi Arabia to the Mediterranean terminal at Sidon, Lebanon.
Despite the fact that transporting oil by pipeline is far less attractive now than a decade ago,
the system has been able to compete with the great tankers through efficient operation-and
accomplish some remarkable feats into the bargain. Not only has it delivered over
three-quarters of a billion barrels of oil (a barrel is 42 U. S. gallons) to Sidon since
December 1950, but as the pictures on this page show,Tapline (which is the abbreviation for
Trans-Arabian Pipe Line Company) has been of considerable economic benefit to the transit countries.
1 TAPLINE’S TERMINAL at Sidon, Lebanon, is the port of call
for tankers from all over the world. They lie offshore and fill
their holds with oil from submarine loading lines from the Terminal. Sidon again is a bustling port as it was 2500 years ago in
the days of the Phoenicians. Last year alone over 800 tankers
called at the Tapline Terminal.
9 TAPLINE JOBS are filled to the greatest extent possible with local people from the
countries in which Tapline operates. Of a total 1200 employees, only 137 are Americans. In Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabs are employed, in Jordan, Jordanians, and so forth.
Tapline has proved that nationals of many countries and varying backgrounds can be
welded into a harmonious, efficient work force.
2 PUMPING UNITS force the oil along through the 1068-mile pipeline system. The stations are complete communities located about
200 miles apart along the line. There are schools, theatres, homes,
electricity, water, stores and hospitals for the people who live and
work there.The long building, left foreground, houses the powerful
pumping equipment. Mechanic Ibrahim ibn Mohammed, right, directs the reassembly of a giant diesel engine at Badanah station.
These engines drive the pumps. Unattended, remotely controlled
stations have been added along the line enabling thousands of additional barrels of oil to pass through the line each day.
8 MEDICAL AND HOSPITAL CARE for 1200 employees and their dependents is no small chore. At three of
the pump stations, up-to-date infirmaries are operated
while at Badanah a well-equipped hospital is maintained.
Clinics for employees are also provided in Beirut and
at Sidon.
3 AIRPLANES keep the people at the isolated pump
stations in constant touch with the outside world.
DC3’s fly a “ ‘milk run” route between stations from
the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean, carry mail,
supplies and passengers.The planes make an average
of three round trip flights a week. Each station maintains a first class landing strip by which about 45,000
pounds of air cargo is delivered each month.
5 NEW WATER SOURCES developed along the
rightof-way of the line have attracted thousands
of Bedouin and their flocks-in some cases, to such
an extent that actual townsites (below) resulted.
4 HIGH FREQUENCY RADIO
and teletype circuits permit stations to communicate with each
other and with headquarters. Pipeline patrol teams in radio equipped
cars inspect the line regularly. During the seven years the thousand
mile pipeline system has been in
operation, it has been closed down
only three days for a major break.
7 TAPLINE BUYS IN LOCAL MARKETS
wherever practicable.The purchase of equipment
and commodities has been a stimulus to the local
industry of the lands through which Tapline passes.
At left, a Beirut business man shows samples of
the clothing made in his shop to a Tapline purchasing agent, and above, mammoth sheet steel
air ducts, intended for a Tapline pump station air
conditioning system, are being assembled outside
a Middle East factory.
6 NEW TOWNSITES such as ‘Ar’ar have grown
up around Tapline pump stations. It started with
water. Then Tapline offered technical services and
other assistance to people who chose to live or
camp nearby.When it became evident that towns
were going to develop, Tapline engineers actually
laid out and planned townsites. There are schools,
medical facilities, shops and homes at these towns.
ARABIAN AMERICAN
OIL COMPANY
Public Relations Department
505 Park Ave., New York 22, N.Y.
A. S. 19 62M 12-57